Losing Faith

Prologue

The soles of my feet barely touched the ground as I sprinted down the street to my boyfriend, Reed’s, house.

It was just a couple of blocks away from campus, so I didn’t bother catching the bus or calling him to pick me up from class.

I had just gotten the email that we were waiting for.

The grades for our final paper had come.

Reed worked hard on his term paper. Unlike me, he hated writing.

I was so excited to see how his hard work paid off.

For the past few weekends, we had been locked in.

I didn’t even check my own grade before taking off for Reed.

I wanted us to look at them together. Besides, I knew I made an A.

I always made an A. This was more about him.

His graduation depended on the results of that paper. I still had a few more semesters to go.

When I made it to Reed’s building, my steps slowed in front of his door.

He lived on a street where a lot of college kids rented duplexes.

It was unofficial student housing. I was familiar with most of the cars, so the luxury SUV parked where Reed usually parked his car made me hesitate to knock on his door.

He hadn’t said anything about getting a new car.

Assuming the car might have been an early graduation present, I proceeded to knock.

I stood back as a brown-skinned woman with cold eyes and a tight French roll swung the door open.

As I stood there, she looked at me like I must have been lost. Reed and Nicholas were roommates at the time, so I assumed that she might be someone from Nick’s family.

“Uh, hi. I’m looking for Reed,” I explained as the stern looking woman stared me down.

“For?” she asked, stretching her eyes and pursing her lips.

“Our grades came in. I wanted to look at them together.”

“Are you my son’s tutor or something?”

Son? Tutor? Oh, God! This was not how I wanted to meet Reed’s mother, if ever. I was here now. I couldn’t very well take off running now that I was face-to-face with her.

“Oh, um . . . no. I’m not a tutor. I’m a friend,” I told her.

It wasn’t up to me to explain that Reed and I were seeing each other.

Meeting parents wasn’t even something we’d discussed.

He was from two states away. It wasn’t like he went home to visit every weekend.

Now I wondered what prompted a visit from his mom so far away from graduation.

Either way, I was still curious and nervously excited about his grade.

“Oh,” she replied in a clipped tone, glancing at the things clutched in my hands.

“I didn’t know he had company. I’m sorry. I’ll come back another time,” I said, attempting to backpedal down the steps.

“No such thing. My son isn’t here which means you’re right on time,” she said, smirking deviously as she extended her hand to me.

Once we made it inside, she sat on the couch and crossed her legs. She studied me as I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, fingering the hem of my jean shorts.

“So, you’re the girl.” She leered.

“I’m sorry. The girl?” I asked, knitting my brows.

“Yes. You are the girl who has been helping my son study, correct?”

“Oh, yes, ma’am.” I quickly acknowledged.

“He mentioned you. Thank you for all that you do for my son,” she stated, pressing her lips together in a straight line and folding her hand in her lap.

“No thanks is needed. Reed and I are really close. He’s been working hard. That’s why I was excited to see what he got on his paper.”

“I’m sure you’re a great tutor. Did my son explain to you that he’s not here to find a wife or even a girlfriend?”

“Excuse me?” I asked, taken aback by her question.

“My son is not here to date. If you have that on your mind, you’re sorely mistaken.

He’s engaged and has been for quite some time.

I would hate to see a pretty, little innocent thing like yourself being misled.

As long as you know that you will never be more than a plaything for him, then you’re perfectly fine. ”

“I’m sorry, but I’m nobody’s plaything. You can tell Reed I stopped by or not,” I said, turning to head for the door.

“No need to get your feathers ruffled. You’re just friends. I actually have someone I want you to meet.”

Reed didn’t talk much about his mom, but his disdain for his dad was clear. I did not want to meet him if his own son didn’t even like him. As a matter of fact, I was done with this whole family.

“I’m good on the meetings. I think this is all the interaction with strangers I need for one day.”

“It’ll only take a moment. Zenia, honey, I know you’re making dinner for your fiancé, but I want you to meet a friend of his,” Reed’s mom announced.

The sound of heels clacking was deafening as the woman who was absolutely beautiful in her own right strutted into the room. Her light brown skin cloaked her thick frame, which was wrapped in a sunflower yellow sundress.

“Zenia, this is one of Reed’s little college friends.

What did you say your name was again?” She didn’t give me time to answer her question before continuing to speak.

“Never mind, honey. This is Zenia. Zenia is Reed’s fiancée.

They have been in love since they were children.

Zenia here has been training to be my son’s wife since she was sixteen years old.

She knows everything about him. What he likes.

What he hates. The fact that he doesn’t give a damn about some college essay when he’s the heir to a literal kingdom.

My son simply came to college because it was the easiest place to meet loose women who he could use to get his player bug out, as his dad described it.

After graduation, my son is getting married.

We have already made all of the arrangements. ”

“Oh wow,” I muttered, almost speechless after her statement.

“Nice to meet you,” Zenia said, closing the space between us. When she extended her hand for me to shake, I noticed that a matching shade of yellow covered her nails and toes. She was so well put together. I could see why she was perfect for Reed.

“Nice to meet you too,” I lied. “It was nice to meet you both. Just let Reed know I stopped by.”

This time, I didn’t let her stop me before I bolted out the door. I never wanted to see any of those people again. Reed included.